Guests posting reviews on ChoiceHotels.com will be asked to provide their booking confirmation number to verify their stay at the hotel, and thereby provide potential guests with information from real guests in order to help them make their booking decision.

Robert McDowell, SVP/global distribution and loyalty, stated, "Research indicates that booking decisions for 81% of consumers is influenced by comments posted on review websites. Choice Hotels has launched this new system in order to ensure that its valued customers are provided the most accurate information possible."

Verified Reviews on ChoiceHotels.com will feature a star rating scale. The ratings will be from one to five stars (five being the best), and will be based on Overall Experience scores.

Reviews and responses to those reviews will be moderated by a third-party company, Bazaarvoice, which will check for appropriate language and other key parameters prior to posting the review. Hotel responses also will be moderated by Bazaarvoice.

HX: The Hotel Experience Has Its Own Story to Tell
The Hotel Business team just returned from this year’s HX: The Hotel Experience, which was held in New York City at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. As we usually do post-event, we talk amongst ourselves about trends we noticed at the show, held in conjunction with BDNY. And while the latter—and now larger—show was abundant with design trends (let’s just say blue seemed the prevalent color; bold, geometric forms the dominant shape; and metallics a common thread…pun intended!), the more traditional “hotel” side of the convention center had its own story to tell.